For those of you that read this column, I hope the insights and considerations are worth your time. I have political and social speculations like all of you, but I would much rather stay focused on how awesome God is. I’m just a student desiring to understand what I believe, while also trying to listen carefully and be discerning about the convictions of others. Everyone has their own opinions about everything, and when we become involved in endless criticisms and accusations, it accomplishes nothing. In fact, it makes things worse and we have enough of that already. It’s important to me that I know why I believe my views and this can only be accomplished through prayer and study. If we desire to present Christ to a confused world, He pleads with us to surrender our will and learn how to live in the awareness of His presence.

Some of you have been asking me to share a few things about my personal life, so first of all, our daughter-in-law had twins last month and Mother and the babies are perfect. Thank you, Jesus! Our four-year-old grandson now has a brother and sister! They are so beautiful. We also have another adorable 10-month-old granddaughter that lives in Denver. I realize I’m preaching to the choir when I say that grandchildren are amazing. Our grandson loves to spend the night at our house on Friday nights, and it’s always non-stop action of laughter and entertainment. He is so smart and never forgets anything. We pray for these young ones and are concerned about the evil world they will face, but I’m sure people thought the same thing about us. It’s true, the world is declining spiritually, but when we read I John 4:4, we are assured that God’s light always overcomes the darkness.